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Designer of Beats Headphones Prototype Discovers There's No Free Lunch
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Fans of the signature boom in Beats Electronics headphones can thank Mike Klasco, an audio-equipment consultant who was responsible for the speaker and related electronic innards of the original device. But if Apple spends $3.2 billion to acquire Beats as expected, Klasco won't be among those who reap the benefits.
In 2005, he was hired by Stephen Lamar, a former hedge-fund manager who had created SLS Audio. Lamar was working with Beats owners Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre to create a new kind of headphone. Klasco went to work on a model that could handle the power needed for high-tech amplifier chips, which were just hitting the market.